28/01/2018
Google announces major changes in ranking rules!
Google has been announcing several major changes in their ranking rules for 2017, but these updates were postponed several times. Finally, they came out with the definite timetable for these changes, and it is clear now that the entirely new approach will be set active in July 2018.
The most important changes that are to be introduced will have pretty serious consequences to all websites out there. Namely, the focus of ranking signals will shift completely in favour of mobile, replacing the desktop-first approach for the very first time in history. This change was to be expected since the traffic share has dramatically changed in the past few years, and mobile devices became the major means of using the internet.
This shift will be carried out gradually, and the first important change has been announced for the upcoming July. Namely, the first update named the “Speed Update” will affect slow loading mobile pages and the websites having issues with speed in their mobile versions. At the beginning, it is not expected to heavily impact the majority of the websites on the internet, but as the shift to new mobile-first ranking approach becomes more apparent, the implications will gradually rise in significance.
What this means for the website owners?
The most apparent and the most significant implication of the announced changes is that the responsive design will become mandatory approach if you wish your website to be a successful one. Slow mobile pages will have a lot of impact to your overall traffic and the only way to prevent the damage will be to invest in keeping mobile versions of your website up to date with the latest trends.
This is not something that should be a problem, as the responsive design has been introduced as a major factor for some years now. Still, there are companies that were ignoring this trend since their major target consisted of desktop users only. With the new changes, they will have to pick up the pace and get in line with the latest approaches in web design.